Vincentian Father Michael Mazurchuk dies at 50

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Vincentian Father Michael Mazurchuk, 50, died in Chestnut Hill Hospital on June 13 after a brief illness.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Father Mazurchuk was a Vincentian priest for 23 years and served in Panama, Niagara University and in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Ordained in 1986, he was missioned to Puerto Armuelles in Panama where he served for six years. In 1992 he was sent to the city of Colon at the northern end of the Panama Canal and worked there for five years.

In 1997 he returned to Philadelphia as a member of the archdiocesan Hispanic evangelization team working in parishes in North Philadelphia. After three years he returned to Panama for three years. In 2003 he was sent to Niagara University as campus minister. While there he earned a master’s degree in psychology with a specialty in family relations.

Father Mazurchuk’s last assignment returned him to the Hispanic evangelization team in Philadelphia where he worked especially at Holy Innocents and Our Lady of Hope parishes.

A talented musician, Father Mazurchuk loved to play the violin. For him it was a great joy to play with others and to teach younger musicians; he often organized violin classes for young people in the parishes where he served.

Wherever he worked, Father Mazurchuk always made a special effort to involve the lay people of the parish in pastoral work, and he was loved by the people he served.

He is survived by his parents John and Dorothy and a younger brother, Richard. The funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Germantown on June 19.